A variety of claims are routinely made about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These have to do with:
- the organization itself
- its reports
- its processes
Among the most common claims are these:
- the IPCC is comprised of the world’s top scientists
- it produces authoritative, trustworthy reports
- its processes are rigorous and transparent
- it cites only peer-reviewed literature
Such claims have been made by IPCC participants and spokespeople. They’ve been made by the highest government officials of some of the most respectable countries in the world. They’ve also been made by journalists, book authors, and activists.
A while ago I began entering these claims into a rudimentary database. Some day I may have the time to expand its features so that different kinds of sorting become possible, but for the moment 160+ quotes from a range of sources are grouped into four categories.
Within each category quotes are sorted from most recent to oldest. Clicking on a quote will take you to its original source so that you can evaluate it in its full context (in most cases, a backup link is also provided). If you hover your cursor over a quote, the link address should appear in the bottom left of your browser window. This provides a clue as to the nature of the source.
If you use the CTRL-F function from within your browser you can search the entire database for a particular word or phrase. Type in gold, for example, and you’ll find remarks such as these:
Gold-standard scientific reporting. 2010
.the IPCC remains the gold standard for independent scientific assessment on an international level. 2010
The gold-standard Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. 2007
The IPCC’s reports have become the gold standard for authoritative scientific information on climate change because of the rigorous way in which they are prepared, reviewed, and approved. 2009
I continue to add to this database as I discover new sources, and would be delighted to receive links to other examples. (Please bear with me, though, if it takes me a while to acknowledge your e-mail. My address is NOconsensus.org AT gmail.com)
Whenever you’re tempted to believe that journalists have been performing their duty to the public with insight and valour, this database will serve as an antidote. Among my favourites is this quote from Time magazine:
the IPCC ” which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore this year ” has shown us the way. 2007
and this description of the Summary for Policymakers document of the 2007 climate bible which appeared in an Irish newspaper:
